


From Melancholy to Metafalica

by ArisenFromNightmares



Category: Ar tonelico
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Isekai
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-02 02:44:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19432288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArisenFromNightmares/pseuds/ArisenFromNightmares
Summary: After committing suicide, one poor soul is given a chance to show his true potential, landing in Rakshek village he befriends the local Dive Therapist and begins an adventure somewhat familiar to him





	1. Prologue

My life was nothing spectacular, it certainly doesn’t feel that way when I’m trying not to look down at the street dotted with people below me while somebody on a megaphone keeps yelling at me that I have something to live for. “ _Buddy, you’ve got no idea how far off the mark on that one.”_ To be honest; I’m one of those mooks whose life peaked in High School, but I wasn’t some great football jock whose glory days died as soon as I threw that stupid graduation cap in the air. I was the dork: The kind who actually read library books for fun and played _Yu-Gi-Oh_ cards during lunch instead of ya know..eating.

But as I was busy running my mouth spouting John Cena catchphrases and reveling in the moment of having graduated like a big boy, I had forgotten to plan for the next step of my life and so the summer days turned to months.

Which turned to years.

By the time I knew it, I was 22 years old with a deeper knowledge of JRPG’s while normal people my age were getting their college degrees, or starting a family, or working a dead-end job.

Or some combination of the three. 

Then that day finally came where one day I was politely called into the kitchen and given the ultimatum all freeloaders are usually given.

“Get a job or pack up your shit and get the fuck out.”

I immediately applied for every open position that I could find, and eventually landed a job working on an assembly line building parts for various machines. The pay was bullshit, my co-workers were either assholes or psychopaths, and my boss saw fit to ride my ass into the dirt over the tiniest infraction of the rules.

But like any good weeb, my paychecks went to the one thing that could possibly never let me down: Video games. My one constant, my true north star, whenever women left me high, dry, and occasionally hard, the waifu’s of the gaming world seemed to always welcome me home with loving arms and a happy smile.

Final Fantasy. Dead or Alive. There was always a new set of women waiting to cheer me up whenever things turned to shit, and man did my life turn to shit on a constant basis.

When my grandfather died and after I sat silently through the funeral and the lowering of the casket, I immediately ran to Gamestop and bought _Fire Emblem Awakening,_ I grieved with the family in the moment but once I got home I took up the name Abel and did my best to guide Chrom and the rest of the Shepherds to fight against Grima and save the world.

I also wound up buying _Fates_ later down the road, but we don’t talk about _Fates._ **Ever.**

When I contemplated suicide for the first time and my family caught wind of it, I was promptly put into counseling for a solid year. But when I wasn’t busy bullshitting (and trying to hit on my therapist) for an hour, I was tearing shit up in _Saints Row: The Third._ Loving the fact that my Avatar can pull off a Jeff Jarrett strut while Troy Baker did his best shot at a Ric Flair “Woo!”

I fucking love Troy Baker.

When I finally had enough of bullshit dead end jobs and decided to take a crack at getting an actual college degree, I used my first Financial Aid check to buy a Playstation 4 and God Eater 2. Never got around to finishing it though- or even starting it due to the rigors of my major. 

I had gotten the idea for my major while watching an all night marathon of a show called _Suits_ , I figured if that guy Mike could fake his way into the legal field then why shouldn’t I be able to do it?

Here’s the thing though: Mike had a photographic memory and probably loaded up on Law Books in order to fake his way into being Harvey’s number two. I have no such ability, and by the time I had decided on this little fiasco I was in my 30’s and getting dumber by the day.

By the time my oldest brother had suffered a mental breakdown and had been committed to a facility for two weeks, I had lost my passion for the Law and was knee deep into the _Persona_ games.

“Stop. Stop right there, no more talking.”

I looked up to find myself sitting in a chair, the world around me was foggy and lacking any sense of a boundary. But the weirdest part was that sitting across from me was Demiurge from _Overlord_ with a clipboard in hand, almost as if he were the stand in for St. Peter and the Pearly Gates were just beyond his shrewd gaze.

It wasn’t until I looked down at the image of my bloody, lifeless body on the pavement that I remembered just exactly what kind of mess that I had gotten myself into. “ _That’s right, I had ended up on the ledge after that idiot managed to get himself fired again and we had to move out.”_ My mind would flash back to the day in question: my second oldest brother had an exasperated look on his face at this major revelation as he had been doing his best to juggle the bills and keep our house afloat. “ _He had screwed us over by leaving work early again without saying anything and management finally cut him loose.”_ I felt the anger in my blood boiling anew as I remembered that deadpan look on his face as we debated how to keep things going while that dumbass was on unemployment.

The lights were on, and nobody was home.

“You do realize that committing suicide is a major affront to our Great Lord do you not? By all rights I shouldn’t even be talking to you right now.” I would gulp at the way St. Demiurge was now talking, maybe the gates that await me don’t lead to Heaven but instead take me down into the Great Tomb of Nazarick where I was to be endlessly tortured for all of eternity??? “But, it seems that our Lord still sees some potential in your soul and has seen fit to give you a second chance at life, consider yourself fortunate that the Creator has seen fit to grant you such leniency sir.” Demiurge would smirk and make a note on a suddenly appearing clipboard while giving a smirk of satisfaction, even as my insides seemed to tighten and cringe at the thought of waking up in a hospital tied down to a bed.

“ _No! No, I can’t go back to that damn hellhole with that lazy, inconsiderate fat fuck and his mental instabilities!”_ The thought of having to once again share a room with that asshole as he wasted his day snoring like a damn chainsaw as the voices in his head said God knows what to him, yet when offered the opportunity to medicate and deal with situation like a man. “Please don’t make me go back there, I’ll gladly take my post in Nazarick-I mean Hell!” If this were the true Demiurge, then right here would be the point where he ordered my silence while berating me for refusing the Great Lord’s benevolence.

“You seem to have misunderstood the truth behind my Lord’s gesture: You’re being given a second chance at life, but not back on Earth, and most assuredly not as you are now.” This part of the deal piqued my interest, especially if it was leading to where my weeb ass was hoping it would lead to. “Indeed, your potential is best suited to a world where your knowledge and instincts could be put to their greatest effect, as such you are to be given a choice of where you believe you belong.” With a snap of his fingers, row after row of video games I had played in life would appear before me as if someone had decided to clean out my shelves after my death and sell it to the one Gamestop that was somehow still in business.

“ _Holy crap not only am I getting the Isekai treatment. But I get to CHOOSE where I go?!”_ I let out a half assed Woo and did an even worse strut to celebrate my good fortune, normally this kind of thing was quickly followed by my waking up and realizing that it was all just a dream. “ _So many choices, so many opportunities to snag my dream Waifu_ _legitimately without bizarre in game requirements!”_ My options were vast and numerous, hell most of these games were worth thousands of dollars when I was alive, but as my eyes passed one particular PS2 title everything else seemed so..trivial.

“I did say I would replay you before I died, but I let that loser drive me to the brink before I got the chance to hear your wonderful songs one last time.” I ran my hands over the spine of the cover delicately as I reminisced on a world of Song Magic and Reyvateils, where diving into her subconscious yielded not only greater power but a deeper understanding of that woman’s mind and heart. “ _I won’t fail you again, this time I’ll win you over with my own hands.”_ Taking one last breath and bidding my old life goodbye, I removed the game from its place on the shelf and handed it to a waiting Demiurge.

“An interesting selection, and one most unexpected if I do say so myself.” The scene of my funeral playing out below us would shift suddenly to reveal the world of my choosing, as well as the place I would call home for the duration of this second life. “All you need do now is step forward, and you’ll find yourself traveling to your destination as fast as a shooting star.”

I bit my lip as I prepared to take that first and in an odd way- final step towards a new life. “ _Dad looked devastated; I know I had my gripes with him when I was younger but things were getting better for us pre-suicide.”_ I made one last sign of the cross, mostly because I thought my old man was somehow watching me even now.

Then I finally did what I couldn’t do in life and took the first step towards a better tomorrow.

* * * * *

The town of Rakshek was a lively place during the day, the people would be busy living their lives and doing their best to follow their individual dreams. But at night things were quiet and peaceful, giving the Reyvateil known as Luca Trulyworth time to reflect on her life.

 _“It’s so peaceful in this town and working as a Dive Therapist definitely keeps things interesting for me at least.”_ For a Reyvateil, the act of Diving- letting a human partner dive into her subconscious was supposed to be an intimate thing. But as a Dive Therapist, Luca would allow her mind (or at least the first layer of it.) to be used as a safe haven for her various patients as they came to her for comfort and company, she had yet to let any one individual to get any further then that but that didn’t mean that she didn’t already have someone in mind for such an honor.

“Tomorrow’s the day Croix promised to visit; this could be the chance I’ve been waiting for.” The blue-haired woman would look up to see a single star shooting across the sky, suddenly clasping her hands together and making a wish. “ _Please, please let Croix be the one to finally breach past the walls to my true self!”_ Confident that her wish had been given the proper thought and tribute, Luca would head back inside to rest up for another day of hard work, maybe stopping off at her favorite restaurant and having another Chalon de Trois.

Little did she know that destiny was now shifting towards a truly different outcome.


	2. When Dumbass Meets Canon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our bumbling newcomer realizes the extent of God's gifts, meets the true hero of the story, and makes a terrible first impression with his kid sister.

Yeah, you know how most Isekai series have the protagonists either growing up into the new world (from birth) or just ending up in the world suddenly without much fuss and a crapload of confusion?

Yeah, I wasn’t that lucky.

“Holy fuck!!!!” The sky of my new home would be whizzing by me as I found myself trapped in an energy bubble unable to move as I continued hurtling towards Metafalss like a fighter plane trying to make an emergency landing, only I didn’t have an emergency eject lever to save my ass and give me a shot at a proper landing before the energy bubble decided to plow through the trees without a single branch breaking. “Oh I can already see this sucking in terms of my landing-“ The bubble would pop and send me hurtling toward the ground and rolling along the grass like some coked up version of Sonic the Hedgehog before finally landing flat on my back with an audible groan.

“ _Well isn’t this a great way to start my new life: Covered in grass and with a wicked headache.”_ I shook off the beginnings of what I hoped wasn’t a concussion and got back to my feet and dusted off the last bits of grass on my new clothing before looking around the forest I now found myself in: only I didn’t remember a forest map anywhere near Rakshek when I last played Ar Tonelico II. “Well, let’s see what I can do about this mess.” And so, I began to walk through the forest without many of the unique troubles I had had in game, namely the weird walking animations and the strange-colored meter that went from blue to red the more likely a battle was to occur.

That didn’t mean I had me a leisurely stroll through the forest as when I finally got close enough to see the white-colored Hymnos ring that acted as a save point in game, that’s when **it** appeared to challenge me.

“Nyo!”

This little pudgy thing with the weird tail was a stupidly basic enemy in the Ar Tonelico series and their guts were usually good for either Grathmelding materials (A.T.’s answer to item synthesis.) or even a quick bit of Leaf (currency). “Well, if I can nab some quick cash, I can at least get a bit of food in my stomach when I finally get to town.” Deciding to break off part of a branch of a tree and taking a few practice swings before slowly approaching the squishy foe in question. “Sorry little friend, but you’ve gotta die so I must live. Taking a deep breath before running at the Nyo? and deciding to beat it to death and harvest its insides, but the sneaky little devil decided to dive down beneath the earth and leave me striking up a cloud of dirt that sent me into a coughing fit as I marveled at the stick-shaped indentation in the ground.

“Nice, I got super strength!” Taking a few more practice swings to hone my new strength, I was overjoyed to find that I was being given the uber-buff variation of the Isekai situation. At least until that damned Nyo? came back out of the ground with a vengeance, sending me flying up into the air like I was Team Rocket being blasted off again. “What the fuck?! The thing’s a freaking nobody in Ar Tonelico, hell in the first one they were fodder!!!”

And that’s when my brain decided to act like my janky ass PS4 in life and finally boot itself into giving me a proper info dump after stuttering and crashing.

“Duh, it was an actual boss in 2! Granted, a joke boss but still!” I immediately righted myself and readied a fist, my twig-sword having flown off into God knows where as the Nyo? dove into the ground one more time. “ _Oh, hell no! You’re not getting away from me this time fucker!”_

I could feel the power running through to my fist as a grin came across my face and slammed into the ground, surprised to find that it was not splitting and cracking as the monster in question sprung up with a shocked expression before disappearing from existence and leaving behind its prizes.

“In Neo Russia, Gaia crushes you.” The forest would reward my lame ass G Gundam reference with silence as I knelt down and collected the guts in question, this was definitely Rakshek Forest alright, which could mean one of two situations: The first is that I’ve managed to infiltrate the Canon events and that Croix Bartel was somewhere around here going through the tutorial fights with the ease of a fat man going through a hot dog eating contest. Or, this could be the much sweeter second option where I end up being the hero of the story and get the chance to shine. “I just pulled off a Gaia Crusher, why am I not celebrating this?” Pulling off my best Woo and deciding to strut for a bit, blissfully unaware of the side effects that a massive quake could bring up.

“Umm, what happened here?” The voice of a familiar hero would sound off behind me as I stifled a sigh of lament and turned around slowly. Sure enough it would be the main hero of the game’s story: Croix Bartel, clad in the pearly white armor of the Grand Bell knights and looking like he was expecting a more chaotic scene besides my goober ass doing a pale imitation of the Nature Boy. “Sir, are you alright?”

“ _I don’t care what the Wiki says, that is NOT Darek Stephen Prince!”_ My mind would “reboot” itself again, forcing me to calm down and regard the newcomer with a cool gaze of my own, placing my hands behind my back and giving a calm bow. “I am, I just had a brief scuffle with some of the local monsters here, it got..messy.” I could tell by the raised eyebrow that Croix wasn’t buying a single word of my story but judging by how scuffed up his face was that the knight was in no shape to try and call me out on it.

“Cro, where are you? Did you find out what caused all that rumbling-“ A much younger girl in makeshift “armor” that showed a bit too much midriff for her age would run up beside him, although she seemed a bit less skeptical then her older sibling at the chaos around her as she regarded me with a probing gaze. “Seems like an I.P.D infected Reyvateil passed through here. Say mister, you didn’t happen to see which way it went did you?” I recognized the little one in question as Cocona Bartel, Croix’s adopted sibling and- ironically enough, an I.P.D. infected Reyvateil in her own right.

“ _Shit, I got Isekai’d right into the Canon!”_ This definitely put a damper on whatever elation I was feeling at the moment because I knew what was coming, and it definitely wasn’t going to be s Waifu gathering good time. “Like I was explaining to your friend here, I had run into some monsters around here and-“ As sure as bears shitting in the woods, a familiar explosion rang out causing the expression on Croix’s face to go all business.

“That direction, it must’ve come from the Palace!” The deep blue-haired (or was it purple?) knight in question would charge off ahead with his little sister following close behind him. “We have to protect Lady Cloche!” The two protagonists would speed off into the fray of their adventure, leaving me to contemplate just how big of a mess I now found myself in, given a second chance at life in a world I valued so much to the point where I blew money on a new PS2 controller trying to return to it before killing myself was a weird enough angle, but to be able to influence the events of that world was something that I neither wanted nor expected.

“ _I should just walk away now; events will play out just fine. The only thing that’s up in the air is whose ending Croix winds up in Luca, Cloche, Jacqli, even Cocona’s ending is a possibility!”_ I remember getting three of those endings myself on three different playthroughs, I didn’t find out the fourth until after my original PS2 gave out and I saw the scenes on Youtube. _“You were given this chance at a second life so go live it! Find a good job, a normal WIFE, live the life you were too afraid to live back then!”_ Common sense dictated that Isekai’d individuals had their own grand adventures, maybe not as well-known (and often more hilarious) then the main quest but it had value all its own.

“Fuck that, I love this place too much NOT to be a part of it!” I would make a lot more use out of this second life then I did the first one by doing what the old me never did: Take a chance on myself! And after gathering the few items that a player could gather in the area, I raced off after Croix and Cocona to find them in a fight with knights from the Sacred Order and a Rayvateil partner backing them up. _“This should be a cakewalk for them, this wasn’t even a real boss fight in game!”_ I watched on in silence as the knight and his siblings squared off with the two mooks from the Sacred Order, their weapons and might should’ve made quick work of them but their third was using her healing magic to heal every bit of damage that they were being inflicted with.

“Grr, it’s no good! She keeps healing them up whenever she gets the chance! Cocona would growl in annoyance as the bruises she inflicted on her opponent were easily healed before being forced back on the defense by the reinvigorated Sacred Knight. “Cro, we gotta do something!”

Croix would be as frustrated as the young woman beside him, his blows may have caused heavier damage to the knight in front of him but also left him feeling a little more worn out with the more attacks he laid in. “Yeah, I know, but there’s no way I can get a clear shot at their Reyvateil while these guys are still-Ngh!” The Grand Bell knight could feel the sting of pain as his opponent’s spear grazed his cheek, drawing blood and causing him to retaliate with a shot of his own.

“ _So, this is what it’s really like: No turn orders, no HP counts, just you and a weapon against two enemies who won’t go down.”_ The game had made it just another opening battle, tear through the enemies then proceed on your way to help Cloche, but, Croix and Cocona needed a third man to keep the spellcaster occupied. No Song Magic means no recovery or offensive spells. “ _Dammit I can’t just sit here and watch them get trampled by fodder enemies!”_ But I couldn’t risk just using Gaia Crusher again, that would just end up leveling the building and both sides with it!

 _“But what if my physical strength isn’t the only buff I got? A burst of speed would be enough to slip past the mooks and knock out their support!”_ My body must’ve agreed with my mind because before I knew it, I was standing behind the female Reyvateil in question and since she was too busy focusing on singing. “ _Time to be a hero!”_

At least, that was the plan BEFORE my hands groped her ass like a pair of firm melons in a grocery store produce section.

“Wh-what the?!” The Reyvateil in question would say as her concentration broke and she reeled around to face me with eyes of burning hate, she was dead set on throwing her next spell at me and damn the consequences. “You disgusting little pervert, I’ll blow a hole through your spine for that!” What she failed to realize what that while she was ranting and raving about how to destroy me, her friends were finally getting the beating they so richly deserved and went down like a sack of potatoes. “Now, how do you wanna die?”

“Yeah, I don’t have time for this!” I took the murderous maiden into my arms and planted a big ol’ kiss on those lips of hers before she could sing note one. “That was a kiss from me.” I then followed it up with a stiff headbutt that knocked her unconscious, sending her to the ground in a lifeless heap. “And that one’s from Glasgow you bitch!”

Neither protagonist could comprehend just what the hell unfolded right in front of their eyes. Cocona in particular seemed baffled by all of it. “Wh-why did you kiss her and THEN knock her out? What kind of an idiot does something so..so boo!” The young Reyvateil would regard me suspiciously as the grip on her double baton tightened.

“ _Wow, she really does just use “boo” for stuff she doesn’t like.”_ No doubt the kid was probably thinking I was some kind of mega pervert in how I handled myself, sad thing is..she wasn’t that far off the mark. “ _Well there goes my first impression.”_

“Why are there Sacred Knights here, and more importantly how did you move so quickly?” Croix would regard me with an even colder expression then our first meeting, but it would pass as he remembered the bigger picture. “This isn’t just another I.P.D. outbreak, something’s definitely wrong here and Lady Cloche might be in danger.” Deciding not to waste another second on my random appearance, he would proceed further into the Palace without his kid sister behind him.

“H-Hey! Cro wait up!” Cocona would rush after him as I watched on dumbfounded, she would stop in her tracks and give me another shrewd look. “Stop staring, you’re creeping me out!” The pig-tailed girl would shudder in disgust before hurrying off to catch up to her brother. Clearly, I had been typecast as the pervert in her adorable little eyes.

“…First impressions are overrated anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My thanks to Youtuber TheInnocentSinful for doing a playthrough of the game, helps me keep the story flowing


	3. What's In A Name?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bumbling continues as the new guy continues to shove himself into canon, more Creeper accusations, and a name so dumb you'd swear the Author was drunk when they created it.

I raided the unconscious group behind me for items and Leaf, as well as stealing a spear for good measure just in case more fighting was required. “ _Although with my speed, getting past enemies is a breeze!”_ And I proved such by avoiding anymore run-ins with the enemy while helping myself to Palace treasures (Healing Items, Grathmeld ingredients, and the occasional spot of money.) before finding Leglius and Cloche surrounded by more Reyvateils.

“Great, more enemies from the Sacred Order.” The older man would tighten his grip on his shields, determined to protect the blonde-haired maiden behind him to the death if need be. “You can send as many of your dogs at us as you want, but if you think you’re going to take Lady Cloche from my protection then you’ll..have to..kill..me..first?”

I had finished of the last of the Reyvateils with a shot to the side of the head with the flat of my stolen spear, having to force myself to hold back my strength as they weren’t just automatically spawning baddies anymore. “I’m sorry, were you saying something? I was just a little busy doing YOUR FUCKING JOB!” The Captain didn’t appreciate my wording, judging by the stiffness of his jaw and the stone-cold look on his jacked-up face. That X-shaped scar must’ve had some kind of a story behind it that I had yet to figure out, either that or it was just some design choice by the character artist. “Regardless, I passed by one of your knights on my way through here so help should be arriving soon.” Running into Cloche was not what I had planned, compared to her sister Luca I didn’t find much appealing to her outside of the bigger rack and the fact that Kate Higgins voiced her. Although back then I was a bigger fan of Laura Bailey back when I first played through it, not that the game’s ending credits told me who voiced who.

“Captain Leglius! Lady Cloche!” As always Croix seemed to show up when I least wanted him to, and with the spear in my hand his first step was to immediately regard me as an enemy. “So you only pretended to help us back there, your real target was Lady Cloche the entire time!”

I immediately rolled my eyes at this statement and prepared for a fight, only to be surprised when the good captain himself decided to intercede.

“Stand down Croix, this young man came to help us in our hour of need. Although personally speaking, I find his attitude to be reprehensible.” Leglius would speak calmly, although the tone of authority in his voice was one that said that no argument was going to be had. “Although it would put my mind at ease if you were to tell us your name stranger, if not for yourself then for the good of Lady Cloche at least.”

“ _Damn you knights and your proper etiquette, this was just supposed to be a quick run through, lend a helping hand and get the hell outta here!”_ The others would continue to look at me expectantly, all they wanted was a name after all. “I’m just a stranger passing through these lands on a journey of self-reflection, if you really have to refer to me as something then call me-“

“Creeper!” Cocona would finally join the rest of the group, her eyes immediately locking onto me instead of reading the vibe of the room before finding the three unconscious Reyvateil behind me and letting out a squeal of terror. “Cro! He did it again! Is there truly no limit to how boo you can be, filthy Creeper!!”

“ _Okay, this gag is getting old real fast!”_ Slamming my spear into the ground and standing up to my full height, their eyes would go back to me as I calmly cleared my throat and prepared to speak.” My name is Rokusho, I’m no Creeper. Just a mere traveler on the winding road that is life.” The others would look at me skeptically, apparently Cocona’s little outburst had done little to help endear me to the group in a positive light as Croix seemed ready to tell me off once again.

“You have quite the unusual name. Nevertheless, I owe you my thanks, sir Rokusho.” Cloche would speak in a calm and dignified manner, as if she were delivering a speech to a crowd of people who would no doubt be hanging onto her every word like good little sheep. After all, the start of the game had her rallying the people to stand against the Goddess Freilia and join her in building a Holy Land. “Although to be honest, I’m very confused as to why an I.P.D. Outbreak would occur here of all places.”

“My Lady, I’m afraid this isn’t an outbreak.” Leglius would quickly take command of the situation like a good commanding officer would, bringing Croix and the others up to speed about the situation regarding Chancellor Alfman and his regime using the decommissioned Sacred Knights in order to further his own schemes. “This was clearly an attempt on Lady Cloche’s life, luckily we had you and Rokusho here to help fend off the enemy’s advance.”

“Yeah about that Cap’n, we still have more enemies coming our way!” I would slice through the Song Magic blast meant for my person, only to be rewarded with a spear covered in ice for my troubles. “Might wanna get the good Lady Cloche as far away from here as you can, this is gonna get a little messy!” I would pop my knuckles in anticipation of other fight, not expecting Leglius to stand beside me with his shields raised and a focused look on his face.

“Croix, take Lady Cloche and go into hiding until the next full moon. After that, come find me in the Mikry Forest, we can plan our next move from there.” Leglius would block another blast of Song Magic, clearly ready to go down swinging.

“Leglius, do you really intend to entrust my safety to a rookie?” Cloche seemed aghast at such an outcome even as the Captain dove into the fray in order to buy the trio a little time to escape and make their way to Rakshek. “He may be a rookie, but his skills are on par with any knight in the Grand Bell, I dare say that he could even give Rokusho a run for his money.”

I really wanted to kill Leglius right then and there, especially since I could run circles around this goddamn hero at this point.

“Hmph, I hope for your sake that you’re right about this Leglius.” With that last quip, the trio would finally head off to safety and leave Leglius to his possible execution and the three tramps that stood in my way.

“My apologies Rokusho, I hope you understand that I only said that to put Lady Cloche’s mind at ease.” The grizzled veteran would smash one of the women in the face as he continued to fight on valiantly, no doubt he was a champion in the eyes of the people and an inspiration to the other whelps in the knighthood. “Rokusho? I trust you didn’t take any offense to my words.”

His words would be rewarded with silence, as I had long since left the fray in order to pursue my own ambitions and beat the party to Rakshek.

* * * * *

For Luca Trulyworth, Dive Therapy was both a calling and a way of earning money. Seeing the look of relief and joy on the faces of her patient was a small price to pay for the slight intrusion in her mind.

“I finally feel like I’ve finally gotten over being left at the Altar, I’m gonna take that mining gig and make a fresh start of my life!” This patient had been in a year long depression being left at the altar by his childhood sweetheart, in desperation to try and get the man back on his feet the family had turned to Luca’s Dive Therapy in order to mend his broken heart. “Thank you so much Miss, I’m finally free!” The world around Luca would bloom into a world of white as her mind returned to the Dive Chamber, another job well done, and another patient being sent home happy as Luca straightened her hair after getting out of the chamber.

“ _Finally, now I can run over to the restaurant and grab a bite to eat.”_ The azure-haired Reyvateil nearly salivated at the thought of being able to taste her friend Skycat’s wonderful cooking once again, after finally finishing her paperwork on her most recent patient she would close up shop and make her way to the restaurant that was once also her place of employment.

“ _Back then things were totally different for me back then: I was dating Croix and was a lot less of the cheery individual I am now.”_ Luca would make small talk with the few people on the streets who approached her, so genuine were her smiles that one would be surprised to find her thinking about an unhappy time in her life as she had her difficulties in her line of work: if it wasn’t the customers constantly getting on her for a botched order or being in a genuinely salty mood, then it would be the more lecherous ones who would try to get handsy with either herself or Skycat. Though her friend was more than capable of sending those bums flying out on their asses if necessary, she may have a pretty face but Skycat could throw hands with the best of them.

“And stay out you bums!” Luca tried to smother a laugh as a couple of drunkards would go flying from the doors of her favorite restaurant, the two haggard looking men would scramble to their feet and run for safety as a satisfied Skycat would greet her friend at the front door. “Geez, I know it’s called the Bum’s Rush, but I didn’t expect for it to be so literal.” Even after quite the tussle she’d had with those drunks, Luca couldn’t help but marvel at just how gorgeous her friend looked through it all. “They must not have been that much of a hassle if you threw them both out at once.”

The restaurant waitress would calmly shake her head as she ushered her friend inside to avoid drawing any more of a crowd to their building. “Sorry Master, but I can’t take credit for this one.” Skycat would gesture to a lone customer who was digging into his third helping of food while a hangman’s noose was draped across his shoulders like a feather boa, from what Luca could tell of the man he was someone who had no idea what he was doing in the world but somehow managed to keep his head on straight despite it all.

“Are you sure he’s not just another bum, because he looks like he’s been trampled over by a heard of pigs.” The azure haired Reyvateil would go silent as she felt the man’s eyes on her, blinking in shock as the man with the noose was now standing in front of her. “ _I didn’t even see him get up from his seat, just who is this guy?”_ Now that she had a better look at this bum in question: platinum blonde hair that hadn’t seen a wash for a couple days, mud covered leather clothing that looked hastily washed in the river before making his way to Rakshek, but perhaps what was most unsettling about this newcomer were his eyes: They were oddly grey and fogged over, they were the eyes of a man long since blinded by some unexplained accident.

“Excuse me Miss Skycat, can I get another helping of food?” The newcomer would look straight at the waitress as he spoke to her, if the stranger truly was blind then he had adapted to his disability with little issue. “I’ve got plenty of Leaf to spare if money’s an issue.” The blonde-haired stranger would give a welcoming nod to Luca, moving aside to let the Dive Therapist inside.

For a moment, she swore that there was a spark of something in those cloudy eyes. An emotion that screamed at her to keep her guard up around this stranger lest she end up in the middle of some sort of catastrophe.

“I’m more than willing to keep feeding you, but will you at least please tell me your name before you stuff your mouth full of food?” The waitress would calmly hand the stranger the menu, Luca watching in befuddlement as the man’s eyes scanned the menu with glee and picked out a few more items to consume. “Great, I’ll get started on your order right away Mister…” Skycat would let her words trail off, hoping to finally coax the stranger into giving a name.

The man would laugh sheepishly, running a hand through his hair as a smile slowly formed on his face.

“My name is Malik Draven, my friends call me Hangman”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mean for this chapter to get delayed, but Borderlands 2 is very addictive.  
> And now that i have a new PS2 controller, I can actually play AT2 myself!


End file.
